


Every Last Drop

by elizasnarrative



Category: Hadestown - Mitchell
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-18
Updated: 2020-04-18
Packaged: 2021-03-01 20:28:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,573
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23713606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elizasnarrative/pseuds/elizasnarrative
Summary: She spun in her chair, feeling like she could melt into a puddle when she saw his face so close to hers. “Hi,” she spoke softly, her dark eyes looking up at him with a wary hope.“Hi,” Orpheus said with one of his handsome smiles, and Eurydice couldn’t help but think how unfair it is that even just the sound of his voice was like music. He took her hands as he knelt in front of her and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles. His shoulders sagged with relief when she didn’t pull away. “Can I..?”Eurydice nodded once, and then the young couple embraced, the songwriter pressing kisses into his muse’s dark hair. They held each other tight, and it was like all was right in the world.or... the one where Orpheus gives too much and Eurydice can't let go.
Relationships: Eurydice & Persephone (Hadestown), Eurydice/Orpheus (Hadestown), Hades/Persephone (Hadestown), Hermes & Orpheus (Hadestown)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 32





	Every Last Drop

Orpheus gave all of himself. 

Whether it was his music, his love, or even his work, he wrung every last drop of himself into it. 

It was his strength, and it was his weakness. It’s what made his music so compelling. It was what made the people around him love him, but it was also what led to his broken heart. 

“‘Seph is dropping by today,” Hermes said casually, shining the rim of the delicate wineglass he held. He watched Orpheus out of the corner of his eyes, noticing the way his previously furious scribbling suddenly ceased. 

“She is?” The young man asked, not quite meeting his boss’s eyes as he shut his soft, worn leather-bound songbook shut. “Um. Did she mention her? Is she coming?” Orpheus tried to be light, but anyone with ears could hear the hope. 

“She didn’t say. Which makes me think—”

“She’s coming,” Orpheus finished, nodding his head jerkily before he stood up from the barstool abruptly and began to take the chairs off the tabletops. He needed something to distract himself.

“Yes,” Hermes said, moving out from behind the bar. “And that’s okay. Because it’s going to be different this time. You, my good man, are not going to—”

“Any time with her is better than none at all, Hermes,” Orpheus sighed, continuing his quick work of opening the floor. He had resigned to his fate. He loved her too much to pretend otherwise.

“Orpheus, that girl is—”

“The love of my life,” Orpheus said flatly, finally meeting eyes with his adopted father figure. An uncle, almost. “We both know that I’ll break after her hanging around. I’d last two days max, and then I’d have wasted two days without her. It’s better if I just take what I can get.”

Hermes felt the unfamiliar rush of anger flood his heart. He felt for the girl, too. He really did. He just wanted to shake her sometimes, for she had no idea the power she had. Or the hurt she caused. “You’re calling her the love of your life? You’ll see her at the most two weeks every six months. That’s not a healthy relationship— that’s barely a relationship.” 

Orpheus shrugged his shoulders. “That’s a whole month out of the year. More than most people get with their soulmates,” he fiddled with the arrangement of the condiments on the sticky table. No matter how hard he tried, there was still going to be a residue. 

“O…”

The songwriter held his hand up. “We’re not talking about this. I have to go finish before opening,” he moved to the kitchen entrance. “Maybe she’ll write to me this time. If I don’t try and stay away from her at the beginning,” he added hopefully, glancing at the bar owner. 

Hermes didn’t have the heart to disagree. “Maybe she will.”

\- - -

Eurydice paused with her hand on the door. She stared at the red stone on her thumb ring, trying to anchor herself without having to do the breathing exercises the anonymous therapist had recommended to her online. 

“Are you going in or not?” Persephone asked, raising one of her eyebrows, unimpressed. She wasn’t too fond of her husband sending her with a babysitter, even if she was an easily distractible one. “I’m sure doe-eyes will be incredibly disappointed if you don’t, but you’re more than welcome to wait at the hotel while I say hello to an old fri—”

“You know I can’t do that,” Eurydice huffed, and she pulled the door open, letting Seph step inside first. 

Their eyes met instantly. He knew she was coming, then. 

Persephone squealed and instantly glided across the hardwood floor to embrace Hermes. 

Eurydice stood frozen by the entryway; she wasn’t quite sure what to do. He usually needed a few days to make up his mind. She wanted to respect that, but she also wanted to give him a thousand kisses. She was the one to break their contact— she always had to be. 

She shrugged her backpack off her shoulder and moved to sit down at the tiny square table on the other side of the bar. She might as well get some work done while she waited. She pulled her sleek laptop out of her bag, flipping the screen open. She pressed the power button and froze when she felt a soft hand on her shoulder. She spun in her chair, feeling like she could melt into a puddle when she saw his face so close to hers. “Hi,” she spoke softly, her dark eyes looking up at him with a wary hope. 

“Hi,” Orpheus said with one of his handsome smiles, and Eurydice couldn’t help but think how unfair it is that even just the sound of his voice was like music. He took her hands as he knelt in front of her and pressed a light kiss to her knuckles. His shoulders sagged with relief when she didn’t pull away. “Can I..?”

Eurydice nodded once, and then the young couple embraced, the songwriter pressing kisses into his muse’s dark hair. They held each other tight, and it was like all was right in the world. 

Across the bar, a wary Hermes watched while Persephone smirked. “Well… that went smoother than the last time,” she chirped happily, taking the glass of coke her friend had just brought her. “Hey. Why so glum? I’ll have two more days of freedom; we can do whatever you’d like,” she nudged his shoulder. “

“It’s not as simple as you think, ‘Seph,” Hermes said truthfully, leaning on the bar in front of her. 

“Oh, but I think it is, lovely. Just two kids having fun for the week—”

“Orpheus loves that girl,” Hermes interrupted, and Persephone went quiet. “Like, completely in love. He’d run to Vegas and marry her if she’d say yes. He’s giving up opportunities to stay in New York for her, and it’s… He falls apart whenever the two of you leave. I do my best to pick up the pieces, but I worry he’s going to shatter completely.”

Persephone let out a long breath. “She loves him, too,” she said truthfully. “It takes her weeks to say more than two words at a time. Hades just has his hooks in her too deep.”

Hermes scoffed. “And, pray tell, why do you stay with that man?”

Persephone smiled wryly. “I guess he has his hooks in me, too.”

Orpheus approached the old friends while Eurydice packed up her bag. “I’ve called Jade, she’s coming in to cover my shift,” he told Hermes. 

“And you didn’t think you’d need my approval?” Hermes questioned, standing up to his full height. 

“I’ve never needed it before,” Orpheus wouldn’t back down. “This is my first day off in months, and it’s a Monday night. I think you’ll be okay, Mister Hermes.”

Eurydice adjusted the strap of her backpack over her thin shoulder. “You’ll be okay without me?” She asked Persephone, feeling a little guilty over how easy it was to break a promise to her boss. 

Persephone rolled her eyes. “Honey, I’ve lived in this city almost as long as you’ve been alive. I’ll be fine. Have fun. Use protection; I happen to know Hadestown’s maternity leave plan sucks ass,” she took another swig of her soda, finding it didn’t quite match the feeling of taking a tequila shot after a good quip. 

Eurydice’s cheeks flushed. “Shut up. You have my number, just call if you need anything.”

Orpheus took her hand and pulled her towards the front entrance. “We’ll see you both tomorrow,” he fled cheerfully, Eurydice giggling as he tugged her along the short walk to his apartment. Usually, she was the one in a rush. 

\- - -

Eurydice basked in the warm afterglow of their intimacy, feeling safe and reassured now that she knew the real thing was as good as the dreams she’d tried to shake off. She pressed a kiss to her songwriter’s chest, right above his heart. 

Orpheus hummed in acknowledgment, but he didn’t speak. He continued to trace idle patterns across Eurydice’s bare back. His eyes were closed, and Eurydice took in the handsome features of his angular face. 

“Your hair’s longer,” she spoke clearly for the first time since they entered his cozy apartment. 

“Mm. I’ve been too lazy to see Mia,” Orpheus confessed, his tired eyes blinking open. He cupped her cheek. “You’ve gotten more beautiful.”

Eurydice’s cheeks flushed, and she rolled her eyes, turning her head so she could press a kiss to the palm of his hand. “You’ve gotten more cheesy. How’s the song coming?”

He brightened up a bit at the mention of his music. “It’s an album now, actually. I’m not sure how many tracks I want to write.” 

“Mm. I say you write as many tracks as it takes to say what you want to say,” she advised, tucking herself back against his chest. 

“I can say what I want to in only three words, though,” Orpheus sighed, holding her tighter. “Sometimes even two,” he said, thinking of his last words to her five months ago. _Don’t go_. 

Eurydice was determined to say it first this time. “I love you,” she said, her voice much softer than before. 

He pressed a long kiss to the top of her head, and the next words from his mouth were more beautiful to Eurydice than any other album he could possibly make. “I love you too.”


End file.
